In biology, the nuclear matrix is the network of fibres found throughout the inside of a cell nucleus after a specific method of chemical extraction.
[2] Evidence for such a structure was recognised as long ago as 1948,[3] and consequently many proteins associated with the matrix have been discovered.
While there are arguments that the relative position of chromosome territories (CTs), the equivalent of condensed metaphase chromosomes at interphase, may be maintained due to steric hindrance or electrostatic repulsion forces between the apparently highly structured CT surfaces, this concept has to be reconciled with observations according to which cells treated with the classical matrix-extraction procedures maintain defined territories up to the point where a minor subset of acidic nuclear matrix proteins is released – very likely those proteins that governed their association with the nuclear skeleton.
Nowadays S/MAR functions can be modulated, improved and custom-tailored to the specific needs of novel vector systems.
These markers have been found in urine and blood and could potentially be used in early detection and prognosis of human cancers.